LIEBERMAN, MYRON

LIEBERMAN, MYRON (1919– ), U.S. educator. Lieberman was instrumental in raising and protecting the status of the teacher. Widely recognized as the leading authority on education employment relations and teacher unions, Lieberman served as a labor negotiator for school boards in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Arizona, California, and New Jersey, with responsibilities for grievances and unfair labor practices, as well as contract negotiations. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he received a B.S. in law (1941) and a B.S. in education (1948) from the University of Minnesota, and his M.A. (1950) and Ph.D. (1952) from the University of Illinois. He served in the US Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946 and was discharged with the rank of S/Sgt. Lieberman taught at the universities of Illinois (1949–52) and Oklahoma (1953–56), and was appointed chairman of the department of education at Yeshiva University (1956–59). In 1963 he became chairman of the professional studies division, Rhode Island College, and from 1965 to 1967 directed its educational research and development; from 1963 to 1969 he served as the assistant dean for professional studies. He was a professor of education at the City University of New York (1969–75); a distinguished professor at the University of Southern California (1975–77); and a visiting professor of education at Ohio University (1984–86) and the University of Pennsylvania (1986–88). Lieberman was president of the Educational Employment Services consulting firm (1976–94). From 1991 he was senior research scholar, Social Philosophy and Policy Center, at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, as well as chairman of the Education Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., from 1995. Lieberman was author and co-author of a number of books, monographs, and articles. He contended that national professional groups should replace local school boards as arbitrators of educational problems. His books include Education as a Profession (1956), The Future of Public Education (1960), Collective Negotiations for Teachers (1966), Bargaining (1979), Beyond Public Education (1986), Privatization and Educational Choice (1989), Public Education: An Autopsy (1993), The Teacher Unions (1997), Teachers Evaluating Teachers (1998), and Handbook on School Board/Union Relations (1999). (Ronald E. Ohl / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)